Nidhiya Menon's primary research interest is development economics, applied microeconomics, health, labor, gender and demography. In particular, she is interested in the behavior of individuals, households and firms in developing countries and has contributed to topics that include microfinance, labor and occupational choice, gender-differentiated impacts of labor market policies, child health consequences of environmental (water) pollution, land rights and their impacts on economic welfare and children’s human capital, conflict and its repercussions on occupational choice, the effect of policies on people with disabilities, the impact of historical institutions on child health and technology use, and program evaluation. Her research program in these areas includes both theoretical and empirical work and spans countries that include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Chile, Philippines, Kenya and Vietnam. She has been a consultant at the World Bank, United Nations Foundation, and the Asian Development Bank, and a researcher at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. At Brandeis, she teaches courses in development economics and statistics in the Economics Department and is affiliated faculty at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and associated faculty at the Women and Gender Studies Department and the South Asian Studies Department. Menon received her Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.
Webpage

Courses Taught

ECON

83a

Statistics for Economic Analysis

ECON

175a

Introduction to the Economics of Development

ECON

176a

Health, Hunger, and the Household in Developing Countries

ECON

271a

Agents of Development: Individuals, Households, and Firms

ECON

301a

Advanced Microeconomics I

Awards and Honors

Provost Research Grant
(2016)

Asian Development Bank
(2015)

Food and Agricultural Organization, UN
(2015)

International Growth Center Research Grant
(2014)

United Nations Foundation
(2012)

International Growth Center Research Grant
(2011)

World Bank Research Grant
(2010)

World Bank Research Grant
(2010)

Who's Who in America
(2009)

World Bank Research Grant
(2009)

Norman Research Grant
(2008)

Scholarship

Menon, Nidhiya. "Gender and Technology Use in Developing Countries: Evidence from Firms in Kenya." Journal of Economic Development (2015). (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/Elizabeth Brainerd. "Religion and Health in Early Childhood: Evidence from South Asia." Population and Development Review (2015). (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/Rodgers, Yana/ Alexis Kennedy. "Land Reform and Welfare in Vietnam: Why Gender of the Land Rights Holder Matters." Journal of International Development (2015). (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Impact of the Twin Economic Crises on the Philippine Labor Market." World Development (2013). (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya. "Gender and Technology Use in Developing Countries: Evidence from Firms in Kenya." February 2014.

Menon, Nidhiya. "The "State" of Persons with Disabilities in India." Journal of Human Development and Capabilities 15. 4 (2014): 391-412.

Menon, Nidhiya/Elizabeth Brainerd. "Seasonal Effects of Water Quality: The Hidden Costs of the Green Revoluation to Infant and Child Health in India." Journal of Development Economics 107. (2014): 49-64.